GAO Cites Need for Reforms

GAO has said that the recently released results of a 2006 federal employee survey “underscore the need for serious attention to the way federal employees are assessed and compensated.” In recent testimony before the House, it called attention to the fact that only a third of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that promotions in their work units are based on merit, or that their leadership and management recognized differences in performance in a meaningful way, and only a fifth percent responded positively regarding if pay raises in their work units depend on how well employees perform their jobs. “High-performing organizations have found that actively involving employees and key stakeholders, such as unions and other employee associations, helps gain ownership of new performance management systems and improves employees’ confidence and belief in the fairness of the systems. In addition, adequate safeguards need to be built into the performance management system to ensure fairness and to guard against abuse,” GAO testified.